HER intentions were good - to help a friend who had been kidnapped.

On the evening of 28 Nov, Miss Tan (not her real name) sent out an e-mail asking people for information on her friend, Miss Dora Goh Wei Wei, 25.

Miss Goh had been abducted by three men in Shah Alam, Malaysia, that morning.

Said Miss Tan: 'I was frantic and worried for her.'

One day later, Miss Goh was returned unharmed after a RM3,000 ($1,298) ransom was paid to the kidnappers.

But by then, the e-mail sent out by Miss Tan had taken on a life of its own.

Miss Tan said strangers had added false details to the original e-mail, sensationalising the abduction.

'My first e-mail was simple, asking people if they had seen Miss Goh and to report to the police if they had,' she said.

But she later discovered that others had added details to the e-mail, such as the type of car and the licence plate number involved in Miss Goh's kidnapping.

E-mails received by The New Paper mention a silver Toyota Camry, and said that Miss Goh had made a frantic phone call which was traced to an unknown location in Klang.

Miss Tan denied including those details.

'It was even shocking that it was signed off with my name,' she added.

Miss Tan's e-mail caught the attention of the Internet community and was noted on countless blogs, including influential ones belonging to lawyer Haris Ibrahim and human rights activist Elizabeth Wong.

Said Miss Tan: 'I was even scolded by strangers via e-mail for uploading her photograph because they accused me of ruining her reputation.

'I felt it was the only way for others to recognise her.'

The New Straits Times reported that Miss Goh had been abducted by three men in a Toyota Camry after she alighted from her car at the carpark of her office in Glenmarie at 9.15am.

A witness, identified only as Adri, said two men got out of the vehicle and pushed her in. The car was driven by a third man.

Malaysian media reported that Miss Goh, who works in a clothing and apparel firm, was released unhurt the next day.

'She called me soon after and she sounded calm,' Miss Tan said.

Selangor deputy police chief Mohd Salleh confirmed that Miss Goh had been released, but declined to comment on the case.